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Ben Johnson
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'Ben Johnson' A clean entertainer

By P. Sreekumaran
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com

Kalabhavan Mani is a talented actor. He has proved it, time and again, in a host of movies. A riveting performance in Vinayan’s Vasanthiyum, Lakshmiyum, Nanum fetched rave reviews. Mani missed the Kerala Government’s best actor award by the proverbial whisker. He is equally at home in comedy (which is his forte, of course) as well as in serious roles.

No wonder his latest film ‘Ben Johnson’ has clicked at the box office. In combination with stylist director Anil Menon, Mani has once again courted celluloid success.

‘Ben

Johnson’ has struck a responsive chord, both among the youngsters as well as the aged. It has all the ingredients that go into a typical blockbuster: romance, entertainment, comedy and what not! Anil and Mani have served a rich visual fare that tickles the palate of all.

Amarakaran Pathrose (Kalabhavan Mani) is a name to reckon with in village Muthangakuzhi. He is the monarch of all that he surveys, thanks to his rough and ready methods. Fear stalks the village whenever he gets into ‘action’.

His son, Johnson (again Kalabhavan Mani) is everything that the fear-inspiring father is not. He goes out of the way to be nice to one and all. The effort is to erase the bad impression created by the father.

And Johnson has always cherished a dream of becoming a policeman. Ever since his childhood, Johnson has been good in sports. Thanks to his excellence in athletics, the villagers start calling him Ben Johnson because of his physical resemblance to the famously infamous Canadian athlete of yesteryears, Ben Johnson. To cut a long story short, our Johnson manages to become a sub inspector in Kerala police, needless to say, under the sports quota!

As destiny would have it, Johnson is posted as the SI in his own Muthangakuzhi. Now he is fired by a missionary zeal to rid the village of rowdies and baddies, both social as well as political.

The second half of the absorbing movie revolves round how Johnson goes about accomplishing the chosen task.

As for acting honors, Mani leads the pack with a powerful performance as Ben Johnson. He excels in comedy, where his timing is as impeccable as ever. The man is coolly efficient in action scenes and song sequences as well. He has silenced his detractors by shaking a vigorous leg in the dance scenes too! Of course, scriptwriter Shahid has obliged the hero by penning a number of punchy dialogues, and a grateful Mani mouths them with customary panache.

Newcomer Sruthi is the heroine. Unfortunately, it is a male-all affair. So, Sruthi does not have much to do except look pretty. This she does well, especially in the song sequences. The villains, played by veteran Siddique and Vijayaraghavan, look menacing and baleful.

Another highlight of the film is its music. Composer Deepak Dev has come up with tuneful melodies. Kalabhavan Mani himself has sung a song: “Sona, Sona number one”. It is already on the lips of youngsters and has made it to the top of the charter. The lyrics are by Kaithapram.

Verdict: A clean entertainer

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